Stand for decorating a grave with floral arrangements

ABSTRACT

A stand upon which can be placed floral arrangements such as wreaths, sprays and the like for decorating a burial site such as a coffin, grave or tomb has at least two frames mutually connected so as to be positionable over the burial site, each of the frames having a surface for supporting the floral arrangements above the burial site.

Unlted States Patent 11 1 1111 3,809,345 Tebbe et :11. May 7, 1974 [5STAND FOR DECORATING A GRAVE WITH 1,135,241 4/1915 Woods 40/125 1-1FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS 1,804,770 6/1931 Hershfield 40/125 H 1,955,5094/1934 Moechel 40/125 H [761 In n Rolf Tebbe; Barend e both of 2,075,0063/1937 Braun 248/27.8 4330 Langenfeldstrasse 47, 2,919,034 12/1959 Levy40/125 H Muelheim-Ruhr, Germany 2,989,275 6/1961 Hart 248/27.8 3,007,26911/1961 Jump 40/125 H 1 Flledl 2 1971 3,094,802 6/1963 Perry 40/125 1121 Appl. No.: 197,830 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 665,516 1/1952Great Britain 40/125 H [30] Foreign Application Priority Data Nov 111970 German 704168] Primary Examiner-Edward C. Allen 6 1221German;'1'iijjiiiiji'iiiiijiiii'iii 2122222 Attorney, Agent orFirm-Walter 52 us. 01. 248/27.8 [57] ABSTRACT [51] Int. Cl A47g'7/00 Astand pon which can be placed floral arrangements [58] Field of Search248/27.8; 16/191; such as Wreaths. p y and the k r d ating a 40/125 Hburial site such as a coffin, grave or tomb has at least two framesmutually connected so as to be position- [56] R ferenc Cit d able overthe burial site, each of the frames having 21 UNITED STATES PATENTSsurface for supporting the flora] arrangements above 1,652,937 12 192711131112., 248/27.8 the burial Site 745,295 11/1903 9 Claims, 13 DrawingFigures Raysih 248/27.8

:"ATENTEU W 7 SHEET 1 [IF 5 PA TENTEDIAY 7 sum 5 BF 5 Our inventionrelates to a stand for decorating a grave with floral arrangements. Atburials or other occasions such as on memorial days when graves aredecorated, a great many wreaths and other floral decorations are placednext to and on top of each other at the grave site. This affords a nottoo pleasing view for the mourners while at the same time leads to thesituation wherein the floral decorations soon become pressed togetherand are no longer nice to look at.

Accordingly, it is an object of our invention to provide a means forimproving the appearance of the floral decorations as well as topreclude damage to the latter. Subsidiary to this object, it is anobject of our invention to provide a stand on which the wreaths and theother floral decorations can be nicely arranged at the grave site toprovide an optically pleasing appearance while at the same timepreventing damage to these floral decorations.

According to a feature of our invention, we provide a stand for floraldecorations which is positionable over a burial site such as grave, tombor coffin and which comprises at least two frames mutually connected soas to be positionable over the burial site. The frames have a surfacemeans for supporting the floral decorations above the burial site.Subsidiary to this feature it is a feature of our invention to providehanging means on the stand for hanging wreaths and to provide supportinglegs on the frames.

The invention affords the'advantage that the wreaths and floraldecorations can be placed in an appropriate and orderly arrangement atthe grave site. This advantage is realized also when there are a greatmany wreaths, for example more than 20. According to another feature ofthe invention the stand can be equipped withrollers or wheels at itssupporting legs or at the frames, so that a convenient transport of thestand is possible from and to the grave site. It is especiallyadvantageous if the frame portions of the stand or wreath stand can beopened to an expanded position and then collapsed to a compactconfiguration for facilitating its movement from one location-toanother. This latter feature affords the advantage that the stand whennot in use requires only little space for storage and because of itssmall dimensions in the collapsed position, the frame assembly is easilytransportable and need only first be opened to its operational positionat the grave site.

Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as a standfor floral decorations, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited tothe details shown, since various modifications may be made thereinwithin the scope and the range of the claims. The invention, however,together with additional objects and advantages will be best understoodfrom the following description and in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a stand for floral decorations accordingto a first embodiment of the invention and having two supporting levelsone on top of the other;

FIG. 2 is an end view of the stand of FIG. 1 wherein the annular outlinefigures depict wreaths hung at the end face of the stand;

FIG. 3 illustrates an end view of the wreath stand of FIG. 1 wherein thetwo frames of the upper supporting level are folded together;

FIG. 3a is a perspective view of the stand with the upper frame partsremoved;

FIG. 4 is also an end view of stand wherein the wreath stand is shown inits fully collapsed position. Also shown, as a variation of thisembodiment, are rollers "for rendering the collapsed wreath standmovable;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the upper supporting level of the standaccording to FIG.- 1; and,

FIG. 6 is a side view of the stand according to FIG. 1.

FIGS. 7 to 9 illustrate perspective views of another embodiment of thestand for floral decorations according to the invention wherein thefixation of the stand in its operational position is not achieved bymeans of a line but, instead, is achieved by means of coupled struts.Also, a modification of the supporting rod insertion joint is disclosed.

FIG. 7 illustrates a stand for floral decorations equipped with avertically mounted additional frame;

FIG. 8 illustrates the stand according to FIG. 7 equipped with ahorizontally mounted additional frame in lieu of the vertically mountedadditional frame;

FIG. 9 illustrates the lower frames equipped with their supporting rodsshown in the collapsed position;

FIG. 10 illustrates still another embodiment of the stand for floraldecorations according to the invention wherein the stand is equippedwith self-holding hinges for limiting the angular separation of theframes to a predetermined angular separation; and,

FIG. 11 illustrates the self-holding hinge of the stand of FIG. 10.

FIG. 11a is a view, in section, taken along the line 11a 11a of FIG. 10.The view shows two hinge members of one of the hinges connecting the twolower frames of the stand coacting to prevent angular separation of theframes beyond a predetermined separation angle.

The stand for decorating a grave is designated by reference numeral 1 inFIG. land is configured as a wreath stand which can be positioned over agrave, tomb or coffin. The front view of a coffin is indicated byreference numeral 3. The stand 1 is referred to below also as a wreathstand and comprises frame parts 4 having supporting surface means 5 uponwhich floral decorations can be placed and having hanging means 6 forthe wreaths. The wreaths are depicted in outline in FIGS. 2, 3, 5, and 6and designated by reference numeral 7. The wreath stand also comprisessupporting.

legs 8. A comparison of FIGS. 1 to 4 shows that the frame parts 4 of thewreath stand 1 can be collapsed from the operational position (FIGS. 1and 2) into a compact transportable position (FIG. 4) and then openedagain to the operational position.

FIG. 3 illustrates an intermediate position of the stand wherein theupper frames 4a, 4a are collapsed onto the middle base frame 4b; thisconstitutes the first step of the procedure for folding or collapsingthe stand or, if desired, this position of the stand can serve toprovide a reduced supporting surface area when a smaller number ofwreaths are to be displayed.

As indicated in FIGS. 1 to 4, the wreath stand has frame parts which aregenerally designated by refer- 3 ence numeral 4. The individual frameparts 4a, 4a and 4c, 40' are pivotally connected so as to be swingableoutwardly. The frame parts 40, 4c of a lower supporting level I can spanthe grave site in a roof-like arrangement in the operational position(compare FIGS. 1 to 3). In this position, the frame planes forming thewreath supporting surfaces 5 define a roof-like supporting deck andextend approximately in the longitudinal direction of the grave site 2.The frame planes defined by the frames extend outwardly so as to falloff at a downwardly inclinedangle. The illustrated inclination isespecially suitable for obtaining a good view of the wreaths and, ifrequired, flowers which may be arranged adjacent the wreaths. Theinclined extending frame parts serve here as the supporting legs 8 and afixation means 9 in the form of a line is used for fixing the supportinglegs 8 or the frame parts 4c, 4c in their operational position, seeFIGS. 1 to 3.

The line 9 for example can grasp the lower frame part portion 4c] offrame 40 in form of a loop and with its other end, the line can behooked to the lower part 4c2 of frame 4c on hook 10 by means of aneyelet 11; The same applies to the upper lines 90, which have respectiveloops which grasp the outer frame portions 4a1, 4a2 and which have attheir other respective ends eyelets lla for hooking onto hooks 10a.

As shown in FIG. 2, the wreath stand is symmetrical with respect to avertical symmetry plane III-III and equipped with a pair of lower frames40, 4c which span the grave site 2 in mirror symmetry. In addition, theupper frame pair 4a, 4a is also arranged in mirror symmetry. Thisprovides a pleasing appearance with a sufficiently large supportingsurface 5. The wreath stand as already mentioned, has a rectangular baseframe 4b arranged in the vertical symmetry plane III-III. Base frame 4bconsists of vertical support rods 4bl and longitudinal rods 4b2, thesupporting rods 4b] and longitudinal rods 4b2 forming a closed frame. Atthe lower ends of the supporting rods 4b1 are'attached respectivearticulating joint members 12 for pivotally bearing the frame pairs 4c,40, that is, the lower frame pair can be collapsed from the operationalposition shown in FIGS.

1 to 3 to the collapsed position of FIG. 4 by a folding way, it ispossible to shorten the height of the wreath action taken in directionof the arrows p shown in FIG.

2. And, if an upper pair of frames 4a, 4a are provided, then these mustfirst be collapsed as indicated in FIG. 3.

For bearing the above mentioned upper frame pairs 4a, 4a, the supportingrods 4b1 of the base frame 4b are provided with additional articulatingjoint members 13 in a second plane lying above the joint plane of thelower frame pairs 4c, 4c. In his way, the second or upper supportinglevel or deck II is formed with the associated fixation means in theform of lines 9a.

With reference to its supporting rods 4b1, the base frame 4b isconfigured in a special manner; namely, the supporting rod 4bl consistsof mutually telescoped supporting rod parts 4bl0, 41 1 so that rod 4b1can be adjusted in length. The supporting rod parts 4b10 are the outersleeve members in which the supporting rod part 4b] 1 of smallerdiameter are slideably borne in the longitudinal direction. By means,for example, of bores 14 in both supporting rod parts and by means ofpin 15 which is insertable into bores 14, a fixation of the supportingrod portions 4bl0, 4b1l is made possible at a definite extendedposition. The mutually slideable supporting rod parts 4bl0 and 4bll areprovided with arstand from the operational position illustrated in FIGS.1 and 2; that is, the articulating joint member 12 with its frames 40,4c is movable up to a stop at articulating member 13, so that anintermediate position according to FIG. 3 is obtainable. As alreadymentioned, by means of this intermediate position, the supportingsurfaces of the wreath stand can be reduced or the stand is placed inposition for collapsing the same into the position shown in FIG. 4.

The displacebility of the supporting rod parts 4bll, 4b10 and theirarticulating joint members 12 and 13 with respect to each other can alsoserve to adjust the position of the upper supporting surface II atvarious levels of elevation. It is especially advantageous if the frames4b, 4a, 4a, 40 are configured as tubular rectangular frames closed uponthemselves because then joining of the frames in the articulating joints12, 13 is made especially simple as will be explained below.

The supporting surface means 5 of the respective frames 4 constitute, asillustrated, a transparent lattice which can be made of syntheticmaterial or of a wire net. If the frames 4 are made of metal, forexample, steel tubing, it is preferrable to use a wire net 50 which isweldable to the rods of the frame.

In making ofthe articulating joint members l2, l3, hinge sleeves areused which can be slid into place over the frame tubes 4' lying at thecorresponding pivot axis. At the region of these hinge sleeves 16, thewire net 5a for the pertinent frame is interrupted so that the frame maybe moved in a swing motion. The hinge sleeves 16 are joined with thevertical supporting rod parts 4b11 or 4b10 by means of horizontal hingeplates 17-. For the illustrated case of symmetrical frame pairs in eachsupporting level I, II, the hinge sleeve pairs 16 can be attached bymeans of a hinge plate pair common to both sleeves which overlaps and/orunderlaps the hinge sleeves. The hinge sleeve pairs are at each leveland at number of wreaths, both upper frames 4a, 4a do not have to becollapsed or folded up as shown in FIG. 3, instead, they can be removedentirely. For example, it is possible to provide the hinge plate pairswith a longitudinal bead which snaps the sleeve 16 when the upper framepart is horizontally installed over the sleeves 16.

The upper and lower supporting surfaces of the wreath stand according toFIG. 1 can be loaded with a total of twelve wreaths if three wreaths areallocated per frame, see FIG. 5. The wreath hooks 6 are attached to theupper longitudinal rod 4b2 of the base frame 4b and to the transverserods at the end faces of the upper frames 4a, 4a. These hooks 6 aresuitable for hanging 12 additional wreaths. If one arranges the wreathsso as to partially lie one on top of the other, more than 24 wreaths canbe placed on the wreath stand according to FIGS. 1, 2, 5 and 6.

The wreath stand of FIG. 3 can hold a maximum of 14 wreaths when placedon a normal arrangement. The lattice or wire netting 5a advantageouslyused to receive flowers, sprays or bunches or the like. In order toincrease the supporting surface of the stand, and'for anchoring thestandtightly in the earth, the supporting legs 8 of the wreath stand areprovided with supporting feet 18 in the form of plates positioned at anincline with the earth, see especially FIG. 1. In order to move thewreath stand into its operational position, rollers which can be swungout are attached to the feet (not shown). In addition, the rollers 19can be attached underneath the hinge plates 17 of the articulating jointmember 12 which makes it possible to move the collapsed or folded wreathstand away by means of rollers.

on each side of the wreath stand, so that these lines can be used in theevent of a change of the wreath stand to the configuration shown in FIG.3 or 3a for connecting the lower frames 4c, 4c with the upper frame 4b2.The length of the doubled line 90 of FIG. 2 is not difficult todetermine so that its length is sufficient in the fully stretchedcondition according to FIGS. 3, 3a. The reference numerals for FIGS. 3and 3a correspond where like parts are illustrated.

FIG. 3a illustrates an additional line 90 in a more precise illustrationfor which the tension device 91 is connected into the line at aboutmid-length. Device 91 is also provided for line 9 as well. The tensiondevice 91 can be in the form of a screw sleeve which has a righthandwinding designated 91a and a lefthand winding 91b. By turning thetension member in the clockwise direction, a tensioning of the lines 9,90 is obtained and by turning in the counter-clockwise direction, thelines 9, 90 can be loosened. Also in FIG. 3a, there are shown verticaljoining plates 17a for the upper sleeve plate 17. Joining plate 170 arenecessary to join the upper and lower hinge plates 17 of articulatingjoint members 13 with each other, because the dismantlement of the upperframes 4a, 40' cannot be achieved by means of the hinge sleeve 16.

In order to simplify FIGS. 5 and 6, the lines 9, 90, 9a as well as aportion of the hooks 6 have been omitted. In addition, only those framesand lattices are shown which are of interest and the frames and latticeswhich would otherwise be viewable beneath or behind the frames andlattices toward the observer are omitted.

As a material for the tubes or frame parts, steel tubing may be used towhich has been applied a rust preventive material. The same material,that is, steel wire, can be used for the lattice 5. It is also possibleand advantageous to use stainless steel or in general, a nonrustingmaterial such as aluminum. In addition, if the frame and lattice aremade of metal, they 'can be coated with plastic for the protectionagainst rust and/or to obtain a desired coloring for the stand. Finally,it is possible to fabricate the frame portions and lattices of thewreath stand of a suitable plastic; this has the special advantage ofaffording a light weight.

' With reference to the embodiment of FIGS. 7 to 9, the same referencenumerals are used for the same parts appearing in FIGS. 1 to 6. Theframes of the lower supporting level I are, however, here designated bynumber 4.1 and an additional frame is designated by 4.3. The supportingrods 4.4 are not configured here as closed frames, instead, they consistof several supporting rod parts which are insertable in each other.Specifically, the basic supporting rod 4.41 which is slideably borne ina tube sleeve of the articulating joint member 12 and a third supportingrod piece which serves for placing the additional frame 4.3 in avertical plane on top of the supporting rod parts 4.41 and 4.42 will bemore fully explained below.

FIG. 7 illustrates a third embodiment of the invention wherein theoperational position of the frames is not fixed by means of a line,rather, for this purpose articulated struts are provided. The individualsupport rods 4.41 are provided with elbow lever articulating joints 21at their lower ends facing the ground. And a pair of elbow lever strutsextends from each of the elbow lever articulating joints 21 up to therespective outer longitudinal tubes 4.1 1 of the lower frame 4.1; thesestruts are articulately connected on these outer longitudinal tubes. Asillustrated in FIG. 7, the extended position of the elbow lever 21serves to fix the opened operational position of the lower frame pair4.1, 4.1. In this position, the respective supporting rods 4.41 with aring projection 4.44 (see especially FIG. 9) hit a stop at the lowerframe articulating member 12, that is at the tube sleeve thereof. In thefolded position of the elbow lever pairs 22,722 (FIG. 9), the supportrods 4.41 have been pushed through the lower frame joint 12 and thetransverse struts 4.12 of the lower frame 4.1 the support rod 4.41 andthe elbow lever 22, 22 lie practically axially parallel to each other ina position requiring very little storage space.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 9 elbow lever articulating joint 21 comprises ahousing 21.1 with two turning pins 21.2 journaled therein. The innerends of the elbow lever 22 are linked to these turning pins and thehousing has a U-shaped opening 21.3 at each outward side which makespossible the elbow lever motion from the operational into the collapsedor folded position. The supporting rod 4.41 is attached to the housingpreferably by welding.

Comparing FIGS. 7 and 8, the additional frame 4.3 is mountable on thesupport rods 4.41 carried by the lower frames 4.1 such that the plane 5of the additional frame is in the vertical or horizontal position. Inthe horizontal position, the additional frame 4.3 expands the wreathstand to make it a two-level stand. In its vertical position, theadditional frame constitutes a hanging or carrying structure forwreaths, and if necessary, for other floral arrangements, the structureextending over the first support level I (FIG. 7). For this purpose,

the additional frame 4.3 is provided with mounting sleeves 4.43 on itslongitudinal tubes 4.32 and with mounting tubes 4.31 on its transversetubes 4.34. The upper longitudinal tube 4.32 of the additional frame 4.3is provided with wreath hooks 6.1 and 6.2 which are swingable outwardlyfrom the frame plane 5; these hooks serve for accommodating wreaths hungthereon. The wreath hooks 6.1 are pivotly mounted as a one arm levers atthe ends of the upper longitudinal tube 4.32

and the wreath hooks 6.2 are pivotly mounted as double arm levers atpivot locations 6.3 over the length of the upper longitudinal tube 4.32so that wreaths can be hung on both sides of the frame plane 5.

The plates 18.1 are joined via the joining locations 26 with therespective elbow levers or struts 22 so that the elbow lever 22 can bepivoted on the lower longitudinal mesh or wire and all other parts ofthe wreath stand such as tubes, linkages and feet are made of superioralloy steel, so that the stand requires practically no maintenance andover an extended period of time the stand is useful and has a goodappearance. In special situations, if for example the wreath stand ofFIG. 7 should be movable in this operational position, swingout rollerscan be secured to its plates 18.1 with little effort. j

FIG. illustrates an embodiment of the stand according to the inventionhaving frames of approximately the same size 30, 31 and 32; these framesare made of aluminum tubes having a four-edged section and are providedfor strength with transverse struts arranged crosswise. The struts alsoserve as a supporting surface for the wreaths and are likewise made ofaluminum tubing. The lower frames 30 and 31 which span the grave'overits entire length are equipped with selflocking hinges 33 such that theyopen only to an angle of 90 degrees and are then fixedly positioned withrespect to each other so that no further tension means is required.

The 'upper frame 32 arranged vertically is mounted with holding tubes onbolts attached to the upper parts of the self-holding hinges 33. Forhanging the wreaths, transverse struts 36 are mounted on the upper frame32 and can be swung out from the plane of the frame 32. The transversestruts are provided with pins 41 at their ends for holding wreaths.Additionally, the lower frame pairs 4 31, 32 can carry transverse struts38 at their upper sides which also are pivotable outwardly. These struts38 can be joined by hinges with the upper longitudinal rods, thesehinges being similar to the hinges at the front and back ends of theframe. The stand according to the invention takes very little space inits folded position. With this stand, the two lower frame parts can beused alone. There can also be provided additional horizontal supportsurfaces as described, for example, for the embodiment according to FIG.1.

The self-holding hinge 33 comprises two U-shaped hinge members 33a, 33bwhich are riveted to the inner side of the two lower frames 30, 31respectively so as to be mutually adjacent. A through-bolt 33d and U-shaped hinge members 33a, 33b conjointly define the self-holding hinge33. A U-shaped yoke 330 is placed from above overthe two U-shaped hingemembers 33a, 33b. As shown in FIG. 11, a stud 34a is mounted on the yoke330. To provide a tight hold for the tube 34 (FIG. 10) for mounting theupper frame 32 on the stud 340, the yoke 33c is tightly joined byfasteners 50 with a U- shaped hinge member 33a of the hinge members 33a,

33b attached to respective frames 30, 31, so that a lateral collapse ofthe strand is prevented. Referring to FIGS. 11 and 11a, the self-holdinghinge is realized in that the upper edge 33e of the inner lying U-shapedhinge member 33b attached to the frame 31 lies against the inner surface33f of the U-shaped hinge member 33a, the hinge member 33a beingattached to the other frame 30, so that the stand cannot open any wider.

We claim:

1. A stand upon which can be placed floral arrangements such as wreaths,sprays and the like for decorating a burial site such as a coffin, graveor tomb, said stand comprising at least two frames having respectivesurface means for supporting a portion of the floral arrangements abovethe burial site, at least two hinges for hinge connecting said framesdirectly to each other so that said frames can be rotated relative toeach other between a compact transportable position wherein said framesare disposed side by side and an operational position wherein ,saidframes are angularly separated to conjointly straddle the burial site ata predetermined separation angle, each one of said hinges including twohinge members fixedly attached to respective ones of said twofirst-mentioned frames, .said hinge members having respective surfacesfor mutually engaging at said separation angle to prevent said framesfrom angularly separating any further, said frames conjointly defining aroof-like supporting deck spanning the burial site. and extendingoutwardly so as to fall off at a downwardly inclined angle so that saidframes brace the stand on the burial side in said operational position,and an additional frame for holding the remainder of the floralarrangements above the burial site, each one of said frames beingconfigured to have substantially the same size and shape as theremaining ones of said frames to permit said additional frame to supportthe wreaths and sprays of said remainder of the floral arrangements insubstantially the same spatial relationship with respect to each otheras the wreaths and sprays of the said portion of the floral arrangementsare supported on said two first-mentioned frames, said hinges comprisingmounting means fixedly mounted thereon for receiving and removablymounting said additional frame above said two first-mentioned frames.

2. The stand of claim 1, each of said frames comprising tubing closedupon itself so as to define a rectangular frame figure.

3. The stand of claim 2, said surface means being a transparent lattice.

4. The stand of claim 3, said lattice consisting of struts rigidlyjoined to said tubing and arranged'crosswise in said frame figure.

5. The stand of claim 1, said mounting means being two stud portionsfixedly mounted on said hinges respectively.

6. The stand of claim 5, each of said stud portions being mounted on oneof the hinge members of a corresponding one of said hinges in a positionwith respect to said one hinge member so as to cause said stud portionsto extend in the vertical direction when said stand is in saidoperational position.

7. The stand of claim 1 comprising carrying means on said additionalframe for carrying a portion of thewreaths and other floralarrangements.

8. The stand of claim 7, said carrying means being a plurality of wreathhooks pivotally mounted on said additional frame so as to be swingableout from the plane thereof.

9. A stand upon which can be placed floral arrangements such as wreaths,sprays and the like for decorating a burial site such as a coffin, graveor tomb, said stand comprising at least two frames having respectivesurface means for supporting the floral arrangements above the burialsite, at least two self-locking hinges for hinge connecting said framesdirectly to each other so that said frames can be rotated relative toeach other between a compact transportable position wherein said framesare disposed side by side and an operational position wherein saidframes are angularly separated to conjointly straddle the burial site ata predetermined separation angle, said frames conjointly defining arooflike supporting deck spanning the burial site and extendingoutwardly so as to fall off at a downwardly inclined angle so that saidframes brace the stand on the burial site in said operational position,and an additional frame for holding a portion of the floral arrangementsabove the burial site, said self-locking hinges comprising mountingmeans fixedly mounted thereon for receiving and removably mounting saidadditional frame above said two first-mentioned frames, said mountingmeans being two stud portions fixedly mounted on said hingesrespectively, said stud portions being mounted on said hinges in aposition with respect to the same so as to cause said stud portions toextend in the vertical direction when said stand is in said operationalposition, each of said self-locking hinges including two U-shaped hingemembers fixedly attached to respective ones of said two first-mentionedframes, a yoke having a corresponding one of said stud portions mountedthereon and being rigidly mounted to one of said two U-shaped members,said yoke being mounted on said one U-shaped member in a position tocause said stud portion to extend in the vertical direction when saidstand is in said operational position, and a through-bolt for pivotallyholding said two U-shaped members toeach other, the other one of saidU-shaped members being disposed within said one U-shaped member andhaving an upper edge contacting the inside of said one U-shaped memberwhen the stand is placed in said operational position thereby fixingsaid predetermined angle and preventing said frames from angularlyseparating any further.

1. A stand upon which can be placed floral arrangements such as wreaths,sprays and the like for decorating a burial site such as a coffin, graveor tomb, said stand comprising at least two frames having respectivesurface means for supporting a portion of the floral arrangements abovethe burial site, at least two hinges for hinge connecting said framesdirectly to each other so that said frames can be rotated relative toeach other between a compact transportable position wherein said framesare disposed side by side and an operational position wherein saidframes are angularly separated to conjointly straddle the burial site ata predetermined separation angle, each one of said hinges including twohinge members fixedly attached to respective ones of said twofirst-mentioned frames, said hinge members having respective surfacesfor mutually engaging at said separation angle to prevent said framesfrom angularly separating any further, said frames conjointly defining aroof-like supporting deck spanning the burial site and extendingoutwardly so as to fall off at a downwardly inclined angle so that saidframes brace the stand on the burial side in said operational position,and an additional frame for holding the remainder of the floralarrangements above the burial site, each one of said frames beingconfigured to have substantially the same size and shape as theremaining ones of said frames to permit said additional frame to supportthe wreaths and sprays of said remainder of the floral arrangements insubstantially the same spatial relationship with respect to each otheras the wreaths and sprays of the said portion of the floral arrangementsare supported on said two first-mentioned frames, said hinges comprisingmounting means fixedly mounted thereon for receiving and removablymounting said additional frame above said two first-mentioned frames. 2.The stand of claim 1, each of said frames comprising tubing closed uponitself so as to define a rectangular frame figure.
 3. The stand of claim2, said surface means being a transparent lattice.
 4. The stand of claim3, said lattice consisting of struts rigidly joined to said tubing andarranged cross-wise in said frame figure.
 5. The stand of claim 1, saidmounting means being two stud portions fixedly mounted on said hingesrespectively.
 6. The stand of claim 5, each of said stud portions beingmounted on one of the hinge members of a corresponding one of saidhinges in a position with respect to said one hinge member so as tocause said stud portions to extend in the vertical direction when saidstand is in said operational position.
 7. The stand of claim 1comprising carrying means on said additional frame for carrying aportion of the wreaths and other floral arrangements.
 8. The stand ofclaim 7, said carrying means being a plurality of wreath hooks pivotallymounted on said additional frame so as to be swingable out from theplane thereof.
 9. A stand upon which can be placed floral arrangementssuch as wreaths, sprays and the like for decorating a burial site suchas a coffin, grave or tomb, said stand comprising at least two frameshaving respective surface means for supporting the floral arrangementsabove the burial site, at least two self-locking hinges for hingeconnecting said frames directly to each other so that said frames can berotated relative to each other between a compact transportable positionwherein said frames are disposed side by side and an operationalposition wherein said frames are angularly separated to conjointlystraddle the burial site at a predetermined separation angle, saidframes conjointly defining a roof-like supporting deck spanning theburial site and extending outwardly so as to fall off at a downwardlyinclined angle so that said frames brace the stand on the burial site insaid operational position, and an additional frame for holding a portionof the floral arrangements above the burial site, said self-lockinghinges comprising mounting means fixedly mounted thereon for receivingand removably mounting said additional frame above said twofirst-mentioned frames, said mounting means being two stud portionsfixedly mounted on said hinges respectively, said stud portions beingmounted on said hinges in a position with respect to the same so as tocause said stud portions to extend in the vertical direction when saidstand is in said operational position, each of said self-locking hingesincluding two U-shaped hinge members fixedly attached to respective onesof said two first-mentioned frames, a yoke having a corresponding one ofsaid stud portions mounted thereon and being rigidly mounted to one ofsaid two U-shaped members, said yoke being mounted on said one U-shapedmember in a position to cause said stud portion to extend in thevertical direction when said stand is in said operational position, anda through-bolt for pivotally holding said two U-shaped members to eachother, the other one of said U-shaped members being disposed within saidone U-shaped member and having an upper edge contacting the inside ofsaid one U-shaped member when the stand is placed in said operationalposition thereby fixing said predetermined angle and preventing saidframes from angularly separating any further.